Fast company

Thursday

Dec 19, 2013 at 5:39 PMDec 19, 2013 at 6:30 PM

McLeod Brown

South Brunswick junior Grant Hufham didn’t need to look far for his cross country inspiration.
Carmen Hilliard, who graduated from South Brunswick in May and now runs for East Tennessee State, captured the Waccamaw Conference title each of her four years for the Cougars.
After earning his own Waccamaw title last year, Hufham added a Mideastern Conference crown this season as the Cougars enjoyed their first season in their new league. Combined with another Class 3A state championship appearance, Hufham can also add the StarNews All-Area Runner of the Year award to his list of accomplishments.
Hufham has grown from an unsure freshman into a championship-caliber runner, due in large part to his relationship with Hilliard.
“She taught me a lot,” Hufham said. “I think that was one of the things that sparked me my sophomore year. She was kind of the same way. She didn’t really know what she was doing when she got into high school, but she learned and got better.”
For someone unsure of his potential in cross country, Hufham is showing great strides in his progression from year to year.
Hufham was able to employ what he calls a “sit-and-kick” method to win the MEC championship race title by more than 20 seconds. His strong performance rolled into the postseason, where he finished fourth in the 3A East Regional before recording a new personal best with a time of 16 minutes, 20.29 seconds at the 3A state championships, placing him 19th.
“He would rather work as hard as possible and finish in second, than say that he could have worked a little harder and finished in 10th,” South Brunswick coach Matt Wall said. “It’s all about pushing himself. He has a competitive mentality that most high schoolers don’t have. He spent all summer and last season competing at the highest level possible to make sure he performed at that level.”
Besides running on his own during the off-season, Hufham also competes in the mile and two-mile for the track program – he won the Waccamaw 1,600-meter title in the spring. Additionally, he participates in training sessions in Wilmington during the summer, which entails meeting once a week to work on speed, endurance, and running methods.
Having garnered so many accolades already, Hufham is optimistic for his senior year, while humble at the same time.
“Really, I just wanted to win conference,” Hufham said. “That was definitely a goal, and I wanted to be top 20 at states and I was 19th. … I’ve been looking forward to moving to the 4A conference for a while, and winning it just made it pretty sweet.
“Hard work has paid off, and I’m just really thankful.”